


Will-o'-Wisps in the Forbidden Forest

by tricksterity



Series: Spectrum 'verse [3]
Category: Brave (2012), Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: Gen, Mentions of Hiccup, Mentions of Jack Frost, Mentions of Rapunzel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-05
Updated: 2013-02-05
Packaged: 2017-11-28 07:13:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/671712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tricksterity/pseuds/tricksterity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The third in my Spectrum 'verse. Merida occasionally helps out Hagrid with problematic creatures in the Forbidden Forest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Will-o'-Wisps in the Forbidden Forest

The fire was warm and crackling and all of the younger, rowdy students had gone to bed, leaving Merida and a few other senior Gryffindors to relax in their common room. Merida had dragged the loveseat closer to the fire and was lounging on it, adjusting her bowstring, as the previous one had snapped when it had caught on the edge of a doorway. With a quick pluck of the string, it vibrated perfectly and then lay still, and the Gryffindor smiled happily. She’d had to get a special permit from her parents to be able to bring her bow to school, but luckily since they were a prominent pureblood family that stretched back to the ancient clans of Scotland, they’d been able to persuade the Headmaster that she wasn’t going to go on a psychopathic murdering spree.

The last couple of students gave her a vague wave, and she smiled back at them. She placed her bow on the ground and curled up in front of the fire, watching the crackling flames with a small smile. A few minutes later, she was about to head off to bed when a small school owl flew in through an open window by the dormitories and landed on the armrest near her head. She gave it a soft stroke and took off the paper it carried in its beak, and recognized Hagrid’s handwriting.

_Merida  
Trouble in the Forbidden Forest, could use some help tomorrow night.  
Might be a rogue acromantula, there’ve been a few killings.  
Please reply,  
Hagrid_

Merida grinned and summoned a quill and eagerly wrote back a yes on the parchment, and then gave it back to the small owl that hooted softly and flew back out the window. With a languid stretch, Merida picked up her bow and headed up to the dormitories, placing her bow at the end of the bed ( _not_ the table where her mother had specifically told her that bows _do not go_ ) and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

The next night came quickly, and Merida had forgone her plans with her best friends as she told them of her duties with Hagrid. They were slightly disappointed but knew that it was something that she really did enjoy, and let her go with smiles. Merida put on her hunting cloak and her quiver, and then escaped to Hagrid’s hut just as the sun was beginning to set over the tops of the forest. He was already waiting outside for her with his crossbow and his great dog Fang, who was older than anyone could remember.

“Evenin’ Hagrid,” she announced with a grin.

“Merida! Great ta see yer, glad you got my message. Ain’t no time to waste though, we’d better get in,” Hagrid said. With a nod, Merida entered the dark forest with Fang panting at her side. As soon as they passed the tree line, the whole place seemed to get darker and quieter, as it usually did.

“What makes you think it’s a rogue acromantula?” Merida inquired under her breath.

“Ever since Aragog died, they’ve not been so easy ter control, and after the Battle they’ve been acting up more often, it was only a matter of time before one of ‘em would’ve started killin’, even if they ‘ave elected a new leader,” Hagrid replied. The half-giants steps were surprisingly quiet. They walked further into the frigid depths of the forest and as a twig cracked in the distance, Hagrid raised his crossbow as Merida quickly nocked an arrow. Fang whimpered quietly to himself, and Merida could see a big, black shape in the distance. They crept closer until they could hear a hideous slurping noise, and Merida’s eyes focused in on what the acromantula was feeding on – one of the few Blast-Ended Skrewts from the colony that lived in the forest. Hagrid swore so quietly that Merida couldn’t even hear it, and when she looked up at him, he nodded. She gently raised her bow, peering along the shaft of her nocked arrow and aimed at the spider’s head, just below the eye where they were most vulnerable. With a deep breath, she released the arrow; with a whizzing sound it hit the target and the acromantula let out a screech before it collapsed to the ground. 

Unfortunately the Skrewt was already dead, and now so was the acromantula, and Hagrid mentioned that he needed to go and speak with the new acromantula leader to make sure that nothing like that happened again.

“You can do that without me, I’m not very fond of spiders,” Merida said with a sheepish grin. “Bye Hagrid, until next time!” she waved, and as she turned away, a blue will-o’-wisp was hovering in the distance with a small hum.


End file.
